The Jones County Sheriff's Department has arrested a man deputies said has admitted to breaking into 18 churches in the past six months.

Deputies said Roderick Zamora, 24, confessed to breaking into the churches in Jones, Perry, Lamar and Forrest counties.

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"As of right now, our knowledge is he only took coins and cash money from these churches," said investigator Jamie Tedford, of the Jones County Sheriff's Department.

Zamora is accused of stealing nearly $1,200, investigators said.

"Even though cash is what it appears he was after, lots of damage was done to these churches," said Maj. Don Scott.

Jones County Assistant District Attorney Dennis Disnette said Zamora was already on probation for a February burglary charge. Zamora told deputies he was stealing from the churches to get money to pay his fines, so he could stay out of jail, investigators said.

Zamora was arrested Tuesday after he tried to break into the New Testament Church on Currie Road, investigators said.

Deputies said in the latest case, he got spooked by the alarm system at the New Testament Church and ran away. But he did not know that 16-year-old Travion Hicks had been watching. Hicks said he knew something was wrong when he saw a car he didn't recognize parked in the dark outside his grandfather's church.

"I saw the lights pull up and then I went to tell my mom," Hicks said. "He ran out of the church, got in his car and pulled around. We followed behind him and I got the license plate."

Hicks said he had no idea his act of bravery would lead to such a major arrest.

"I'm very proud of my grandson. I call him the crook watcher now," said Pastor Milton Branch, of New Testament Church.

Zamora is expected to make an initial court appearance on Thursday. He is facing multiple counts of commercial burglary, authorities said. The district attorney said if Zamora is convicted, he could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.